We drive down to Worcester again tomorrow in order to collect my “Green Man” exhibition, at the end of its run. It is always interesting to gather indications as to how my work has been received. (I have had one appreciative email already.) There are always surprises in this respect …. usually pleasant, but occasionally a bit disturbing. When I exhibited this material in Lincoln it was a bit annoying to be accused by one person, writing in the comment book, that I was attempting to introduce paganism into Christianity. That sort of thing does make me wonder what has been the experience of looking at my work for some people. I guess that it is a ubiquitous experience for artists that the responses of viewers can sometimes be rather “off the wall”. We shall see. I always find that there is something to be learned from these responses.
For the past couple of days we have been enjoying a short holiday in the small Lancashire town of Kirkby Lonsdale, and taking some very pleasant riverside walks. One of the pleasant experiences of the stay was a visit to the Norman parish church. It was quite a surprise to discover there a Green Man carving …. and one that doesn’t appear in Clive Hicks’ directory of these things.